Hearts and Hands: The Aftermath
by JadeTakashi
Summary: FINISHED..... or is it?
1. Prologue

Prologue

There comes a point in every person's life when severe heartbreak is experienced. Most people experience this at least once, maybe even twice, but for one man, once was more than enough. He'd been hurt before, but it had always been his fault. He'd ended the relationship.  
He'd given up hope. This time, it was all her. She'd left him, broken and confused, and above all angry. Angry at her for leaving. Angry at himself for trusting her. Angry at everyone for everything. He became so angry that he was devoured by his anger and suddenly he disappeared. He left everything behind him, his life, his family, his everything. He ceased to be himself and became the one thing he knew. He became the Hand of Heartbreak. Thus my story begins, with this hidden entity of pain and devastation stepping out into a galaxy waiting for revenge.


	2. The Hand of Heartbreak

The hand of heartbreak

He swept into the room, blasters firing rapidly. One down, two down, three. They were running like mice, all of them eager to escape his path of rage. Suddenly, a trio of blasters swung out toward him and began firing.

"Open your guns on him boys. This guy ain't getting any further." Around the room the click of blasters slipping from their holsters could be heard being repeated rapidly. One man had sense enough to turn on the lights, and when they blinked into existence their attacker could finally be seen. He was a tall man of about six feet, with shaggy blond hair and piercing sapphire blue eyes. He wore a black tie on his eyes, with small slits cut in them so that he could see. The black tunic he wore bore the symbol of a heart split in two by the blade a lightsaber. He wore black pants, with a red bloodstripe on the seam and a black cloak bearing the same symbol as his tunic. Attached to him were two blaster holsters and the hilts of two stun sticks.

For a moment the group of men was shocked at the countenance of their attacker for he looked not triumphant but sad, as though he regretted his actions. The men quickly took control of the situation and began firing on the man. A flurry of blaster bolts flew at him and it seemed they had won the battle. They assumed wrong, for just as the bolts went flying at him, they heard the snap hiss of a lightsaber ignition. The blue blade sprang into view and swept away the blaster bolts, sending them back into the guns they'd come from. Each man yelled in pain, and dropped his gun, quickly turning and running from the scene.

The man came after them with inhuman speed and subdued each of them. When he reached the last of them, he whispered something intelligible and stabbed his blade into the heart of the last survivor. When the scene was discovered the next day, only one trace of the man's existence could be found. It was the emblem he proudly sported on his tunic and cloak, laser-branded into the durasteel and signed _The Hand_ _of Heartbreak_.


	3. Only Hope

Only hope

"Darkness often clouds our view of the world, but now we find ourselves at a time in which that cloud has reformed and become a physical entity." The speaker spoke with confidence though she could feel the nervousness pouring from him. She could see that whatever this problem was it had him and many others trembling.

"This dark entity has formed itself in what can only believed to be a new dark Jedi. This entity signs under the name 'the Hand of Heartbreak'. The flimsipads before you contain what little we know of him." He signaled his aide and the young man stepped forward and began to pass out memory discs. "These discs you are recieving contain the security holo-recordings of the latest attacks. What strikes me and my investigators is that this entity though seemingly evil in nature, only attacks the miscreants of society. This latest and most deadly attack is of a smuggling ring in the Corellian system." There came a hum of excitement about the room. She glanced at the speaker and at her companions. From her view from the chancellor's chair she could see the shock on everyone's faces.

"I know that may be a shock that the Corellians actually asked us for their help, being a majorly independent state in the Alliance, but Corsec was so confused by the irony of the situation they had nowhere else to turn."

"Couldn't they have called upon the Jedi? They are far more experienced and equipped for this sort of thing." That came from the Senator of Naboo.

"The Jedi are dealing with a myriad of their own problems. It was best that they call upon us."

"Who gave them this information about the Jedi?"

"What's going on at the Academy?"

"Why haven't we been informed? Our systems depend on the safety the Jedi provide." It was at this point that she felt she should take over. She stood calmly, rising from her chair with feline grace. The room fell silent immediately.

"The Corellians have a correspondent in the ranks of the Jedi that keeps them well enough informed. I cannot inform you of the proceedings at the Academy at this time, for reasons I will not explain. Information has not been given as a widespread panic would induce if citizens were to know that something is amuck at the Academy. When the issue is settled to an appropriate point, everyone will be well informed on the situation." The speaker turned and smiled as she sat back down.

"Many thanks, Madame Chief of State."

"You may continue your presentation."

"Thank you. If you would all please take your eyes from your handheld information, I have the holo-recording playing." There was a murmur of small movement as the senators and and department heads looked up. The lights dimmed and the holo began to play. They watched as a figure walked into the room and quickly swept away his adversaries. As the holo spun she watched him closely, freezing in horror as she slowly recognized his movements. They were unmistakable belonging to only one person in the galaxy. No one could imitate the precise form.

_No. It can't be. Not him. Its not possible._

She watched the holo with a keener eye, searching for something, anything, that would prove her suspicions wrong. To her growing horror, there was nothing there. Toward the end of the holo a small movement caught her eye.

"Stop the holo and roll back a few seconds." She waited patiently as her order was followed. When it began to play again she saw the same movement again. "Okay stop it right there." The other occupants of the room looked at her expectantly. "He spoke. I saw the movement of his lips. He said something. Does this recording have audio?"

"Unfortunately it does not. However, the transcript report we received does mention that the suspect spoke." The speaker said grimly. A senator raised a hand across the room.

"If this criminal is attacking criminals why exactly is this a problem for us?"

"No citizen should take the law into his own hands. He's killing people, and whose to say that he won't eventually turn on us? It is our problem because he is a danger to our citizens, regardless of his seemingly noble goal. Thus, it is up to us to stop him at all costs." There was a murmur of agreement from the senators. The speaker turned to her and smiled, bowing slightly.

"I am done with my presentation, Madame Chief of State." She smiled and stood.

"Then this meeting stands adjourned. If you will all excuse me I have business to which I must attend."

She gathered the flimsipad and holo-disc and left the room. As soon as she was out of earshot, she pulled a comlink from her belt and keyed its private frequency.

"Solo." came the quick response. She smiled.

"Han, meet me at the apartment in ten. We have a serious problem."

"What's wrong, Princess?"

"I'll explain when you get there."

"Okay. See you in five." The comlink clicked and she sighed. There was only one person that could stop the growing cycle of events. She only hoped she would listen.

_Ten minutes later..._

Han Solo walked into his apartment briskly and met a concerned looking Leia. He dropped his tool kit next to the door and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. He sat in a chair across from her and watched her, waiting for her to speak. When she didn't, he spoke.

"Ok, I'm here. There's not a single bug in this place so you are free to talk. What's going on?" She sighed and looked at him, a grave look making its way onto her face.

"Luke is missing from the Academy."

"We knew that. He was on an undercover mission in the somewhere in the galaxy. I can't remember where."

"That's because they didn't tell us where, and for good reason."

"What do you mean good reason?"

"Luke left the Order. He's not a jedi anymore. In fact, I believe he's fallen to the darkside." Han laughed, but his laughter faded at the serious look on Leia's face.

"I can't find him in the Force, Han. He's blocking me." She handed him the flimsipad and the holo-disc.

"_The Hand of Heartbreak_?" Han looked at her, belatedly wondering if she'd lost her mind.

"No I'm not crazy. That disc is a recording of an attack on a smuggling ring on Corellia. The man on the holo is my brother. I know him very well. He's unmistakable. No one can imitate him, even his clone would be different in some distinguishable way." Han stayed silent for a moment, thought etched on his face.

"So, what do we do about this? No offense, your highness," Leia frowned. This was not a time for games. "But you're just not powerful enough to stop him. In fact I don't think a Jedi in the entire galaxy is strong enough to take him." Leia's face lit up with a small smile.

"I know one Force-sensitive that may be able to."

"Who you talking about Leia? I mean your brother is teetering the dark-side here. This is no time to be funny." Leia glared at him.

"I know that Han. I can't do anything about it. I'm stuck here, mired in committee meetings while my twin is destroying himself. Only one person in the galaxy can help. The only problem is actually getting her to do it." Han gave Leia a wary look as he realized who she was talking about.

"You cannot be serious. We can't ask that of her. She's risked her life for us enough as it is."

"I know Han, but we can't let him just run rampant. He's killing people." Han stared at her in shock.

"Leia, I know she's helped us before but this is taking it a little far."

"We have no other choice Han." He sighed and nodded, reluctantly accepting the inevitable.

"I know." Leia walked over to him and looked him in the eye, her face showing her concern and compassion.

"If there were any other way, I would take it. But there isn't. Besides, who better than her? She'd die for him without a second thought. She's got a softer spot for Luke than any of us." Han smiled.

"Only problem is she either doesn't know it, or she's in complete and utter denial." His smile fell. "We really shouldn't do this to her."

"I know, but she's our only hope."


	4. Hand of My Father's Master

Hand of my father's master

The package arrived early in the morning. It was labeled "_To Be Opened by the Hand of My Father's Master_." She found it on her desk shortly after taking a short break for the mid-day meal. When she saw it, written in an easily identified Imperial code, she knew from whom it came. She locked the door to her room, and sat down at her desk. She gave the package a long, thorough search and when she was satisfied that its contents were safe, she opened it. Immediately, a scripted holo-message blinked into view.

_To the Hand of my Father's Master, _

_Once again, the galaxy calls upon the Hand.  
However this time, it is no great evil or danger that requires your expert touch. It is, of a more personal matter, on which I reach out to you. It seems a long remembered Hero has fallen from his gracious throne and seeks redemption. I would set out on this venture if I could, but it seems that I am unable to be removed of my current stature. My hands are tied to democracy. I will be of as much service to you in your venture as possible. Our Hero seems to be targeting those of your past acquaintance, (i.e. the current status of your Alliance). He wields power unique to those of your Master. Any other holding respect of his Throne might be able to redeem him were it not for the call to which he answers: The Hand of Heartbreak. Thus, with this information, I leave it to you, the Hand of my Father's Master, to redeem our fallen Hero. _

_Every name has meaning,  
The Tie that Binds_

_Next reference: the nerf's beginnings_

She read it again, and reread it, her thoughts spinning into the vast spread of the galaxy. Her lips tightened as she resolved herself for the inevitable journey. She closed the package, and stood. Three hours later, the woman the galaxy had come to know her as was gone. She was  
her past once more.


	5. Darkness Falls

Darkness falls

Blood light. Sky light. They blend in the shades of darkness. Blaster fire. Lightsaber shade. They blend in the shades of darkness. Many things combine in the the shades of darkness. The shades of darkness stand tall, their face an impassive mask of concentration. They accept everything into themselves, the power of their conviction spreading about them to encompass all. They are continually converged upon and yet they relinquish everything they accept, returning it to its origin a hundredfold, multiplied by its own magnificence.

Blood Light. Sky light. The darkness binds them. Blaster Fire. Lightsaber shade. The darkness creates them. The sting of a stun stick spins into the fray. The anguished cry of age-old pain rings into the void. It sings of itself, this darkness. It controls the tide of battle, the essence of life. It creates and destroys, alone. It is a massive void twisted into the form of man. It has no emotion, only determination. It has no purpose, only ambition. It has no heart, no inner fire of being. It is just a cold void of darkness.

Blood light. This darkness has begun to spread outside itself, it has begun to see the world it slowly takes control of. The light of blaster fire allows the area to be dimly lit. The only sight is a river, an endless river of blood. The darkness is born within it, it grows and consumes it. Such is its nature. From this river rises an army, a vast army of dying men. They are of many species and they fight valiantly for lives they have already lost.

Sky light. The blaze of a blade of slight light reflects the blood of blaster fire. It is a part of the darkness itself, a self-made extension of the battle within. It is the weapon that causes the defenders to fall at the hand of the darkness.

Blaster fire rages between darkness and its opponents. It flashes into the darkness and falls into the open void. It lights the way with the brief eternity of an eye-blink. It expands the darkness it fights. It defies its own ambition, by simply existing. Defiance is its reputation, and as such, it is the defiance of itself that causes its own death.

Lightsaber shade. It is this that acts as the reflection of defiance. It is this that is the secondary cause of death. This extension of darkness only acts in reaction to the blood. It is not the cause of the blood. It is the creator of it. It simplifies it, makes it so that it is simply what it is. Blood. The light of it casts the shades of itself upon its deadly prey. The prey that kills itself. It is simply the weapon of death.

_They were dead before I got here, _thinks the darkness of lightsaber shade_. They killed themselves. I am only the weapon of Will._

As swiftly as it had swept upon them, the darkness of lightsaber shade drifted away, leaving only one remnant of his presence. It was a small symbol branded into the durasteel walls, almost indistinguishable among the blood and muck. Beneath it, carved in flowing script was signed, _The Hand of Heartbreak_.


	6. Voices

Voices

_She ducked beneath the slashing blade, gazing into his face. Skywalker's face. The face that had haunted her nightmares for nearly six years. The face the Emperor had ordered her to destroy._

YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER.

_And for the first time since she'd found Skywalker and his crippled X-wing floating in deep space, she let herself give in to the voice swirling through her mind. With all her strength, she swung her lightsaber and cut him down. The clone crumpled, his lightsaber clattering to the floor beside him. She gazed down at him...and as she took a ragged breath, the voice in the back of her mind fell silent. It was done. She had fulfilled the Emperor's last command. And she was finally free._

...or at least that's what she thought. Suddenly a voice came unbidden in her thoughts.

YOU WILL NEVER BE FREE OF ME.

Her vision began to fade into darkness and she was consumed by voices raging in her mind.

YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER. WHETHER YOU WISH IT OR NOT.

The voice roared in her mind again and again, and her eyes snapped open.

_So the dreams are back again? I thought I was done with all of this. Well, life is guaranteed to get interesting._


	7. Discovery

Discovery

She sat in her office, eyes closed, an expression of infinite peace resting on her face. After locking herself away from the rest of the universe, she had assumed this position and immersed herself in the flowing waves of the Force. Meditation, it was often called, but to her  
it was freedom. Freedom from the galaxy and all its problems, from politics, from stress. Her breathing was slow, measured, and seemed to be her only focus. With each breath she took she had fallen deeper into the Force, her spirit searching, endlessly searching, for His presence. Yet in the infinite reach of the Force, His presence remained untouchable. She had lost all conception of time long ago, but she could feel her mind beginning to tire. With agonizing slowness she began to pull herself back into the confines of her body, her mind drifting back into itself. Suddenly, without warning, the colorful spectrum of life within the Force spun about her, swirling into a whirlwind of darkness. From the depths of that dark storm came a soft, firm voice.

**"Find the book, Leia. It holds the answers you seek."**

_The answers I seek? It will help me find Him?_

**"Find the book. It holds the answers you seek."** The voice faded into the spinning darkness. The Force continued to draw away to the edges of her consciousness, leaving the image of a small hovel in the midst of a vast desert. Her eyes snapped open, her awareness returning with dizzying speed. Her hand quickly found her comlink. She activated it and keyed a comm code. The voice of her secretary answered.

"Yes, Madame Chief of State?"

"Cancel every appointment I have for the next four weeks and shift all my duties to the Secretary of State. (AN: couldn't think of a better name. Sorry for the interruption. Please continue...) I have off-planet business to attend to."

"Will do, madame. Shall I alert you when it is completed?"

"Yes, please. Thank you."

Two hours later she left Coruscant dwindling behind her.

oOoOoOo

A week passed before she reached her destination and she spent the time in deep meditation. She desperately attempted to understand her vision, to no avail. It was the blaring hyperdrive alarm and her husband's voice that brought her from the trance. As she opened her eyes she found herself staring into the twinkling brown eyes of Han Solo.

"Hey, Princess. We're here." She nodded. "Again, I gotta wonder, what in blazes are we doin' here anyway?" She sighed. She'd hear the question endlessly since they'd left. She stood and stretched her stiff muscles, walking to the viewport to find herself looking at the giant desert  
planet that was her destination. Tattooine. She smiled as she watched the planet draw closer, memory drifting over her as she did so.

"When Luke and I followed Lando here, he took me to a beat-up old hut out in the middle of nowhere. Of course," she chuckled softly, " this whole planet is the middle of nowhere. Anyway, that little hut had been the home of Obi-wan Kenobi for almost 20 years. Back on Coruscant, just before we left, I had of vision of that place." She turned away from the  
viewport and walked back to Han's side. Confusion was written on his face, causing her to laugh again.

"I still don't understand why we're. Its one of those crazy jedi things ain't it?" She smiled.

"Yes, it is. I have this feeling there's something I need to find there. Whatever it is, its meant to help me save him. I know it." Understanding dawned on Han's face and he flashed her a crooked grin.

"Well that's all you had to say. No need for the secrecy." He chuckled. "So how do we get there your worship?"

"Its a house in the middle of the desert, how hard can it be to find?"

"Oh its easy enough, seeing as I already had Threepio set the course in." She laughed.

"Well, we should be there soon then. I'll go change, maybe shower or something like that."

oOoOoOo

About thirty minutes later the couple landed just outside Kenobi's hovel. The place had been mired by dust and sandstorms over the years, and parts of it had completely crumbled. Han looked on dubiously.

"What exactly are you lookin' for here?"

"A book."

"A written book? Like on flimsi-paper book or a datacard type book?"

"That I don't know. In my vision, I heard a voice saying find the book. Then I saw this place. I don't know anything else." He seemed to think over.

"Oh, well in that case, let's get lookin' then." They walked inside and started to look around. Hours seemed to pass with no results. Finally, Leia grew tired and frustrated. Turning away from her current place of scrutiny, she spoke softly.

"You think maybe I was wrong about this? I mean, we haven't found anything but rocks since we started and we've been here for hours." Han looked at her, thoughts passing through him.

"You said it was a Force-vision that brought you here. Maybe that's what you need to find this book. Maybe you should try looking with the Force." He seemed to be asking more than stating, but Leia understood the meaning. It made so much sense, she was almost agitated she hadn't thought of it before. She smiled.

"You have your moments. Not many of them, but you do have them. You really do." She closed her eyes and reached into the Force, pulling its power into her. She calmed her warring thoughts and allowed herself to be totally consumed by it. She felt it flowing around her. It seemed the entire place was permeated with it. She opened her eyes and saw the room with a new vision. She surveyed the room again and it seemed that the wall was calling to her. She stepped over to it and ran her hand along the wall. There was something in it, beckoning her spirit. She drew closer and closer and closer until..._there_. Her hand stopped moving. Stretching out with the Force, she wrapped the object within the flesh of the wall in a tight force grip. She pulled at it and it came blasting through, spraying them with rock and plaster. When the dust cloud cleared, she found a small duraplast box in her hand. Han watched  
open-mouthed.

For a moment neither of them spoke. They simply watched each other and the box, both of them attempting to collect themselves. Customarily, it was Leia who broke the silence.

"Let's get back to the Falcon and open this thing up." Together, they returned to their ship and proceeded to open the box. True to his nature, Han was suspicious of the thing.

"I'm not one to doubt you, but are you sure you wanna open that thing? Anything could be in it."

"I want to open it."

"Ok, well if you're sure. Go on ahead. Do your jedi stuff." Leia turned once more to the box and continued to try to open it. No matter what she tried, it wouldn't open. Struck by inspiration, she sent a wave of Force energy over it. The lock clicked. Smiling, she opened the box and withdrew its contents; a book, or more literally a series of plastic bound flimsi-pads. Written on the first page of the first pad in a dark, flowing script were the words: _Records of a Knight's Mind_. It was signed, in the same beautiful script, _Kenobi_. Intrigued, Leia turned the  
page and began to read.

_'I have finally finished these musings of my humble mind. Soon I shall  
leave this wretched desert and take Skywalker's son to train with Master  
Yoda. It my most sincere hope that whomever finds this journal will find  
the answers they seek. I am no scholar, nor am I a wealthy politician  
with far too much time on my hands. I am but a humble, lonely Jedi  
Knight, quite possibly the last of my kind. These years have passed  
slowly and I have naught but time to meditate. Because of this I have  
become closer to the Force and so my insight has grown. The truth of  
these ruminations may be entirely false, though I have come to realize  
that truth depends greatly on point of view. If anyone should ever claim  
this, I hope it holds the answers they may ultimately seek.'_

Leia closed the book and turned to Han.

"This is what I was looking for. It has the answers. How long from here to Corellia?" Han thought for a moment.

"5 to 6 days. You plannin' on goin' there next on this crazy adventure quest?" She smiled

"Yes, actually. I have a meeting there I can't afford to miss."

"No, uh, you don't mean-"

"Oh yea, I mean. Now get going. I'm only off for a month." Han flashed her a lopsided grin and headed into the pilot's station. Leia opened the book and began to read.


	8. Rendezvous

Rendevous

Their transport arrived at the spaceport the moment their ship was docked. A polished escort made sure they didn't lift a hand to do anything, and guided them to their place of residence. Soon, the Corona House, home of the Corellian Government, towered above them. Their escort guided them into the building and showed them to their quarters. They allowed their escort to leave, and shut the door behind him. Turning to each other, they looked around dubiously and paced around aimlessly. Eventually they turned toward the balcony, but when they reached for the doors, they remained unopened.

"Maybe its locked." They looked at each other.

"I doubt it. When the guests enter these rooms they open these and input the entry code on the thumb key." They looked back at the doors.

"So why won't it open?" No sooner than these words were spoken did the doors blast open and a slim figure stood in the opening, hair flaying in the wind, eyes darkened with emotion.

"Leia Organa Solo." The figure smiled a dark dangerous smile. Leia nodded.

"Mara Jade. Interesting choice of entrance." Han looked between the two. He wasn't force-sensitive, but even he could feel the escalating tension in the room. He eyed the small blasters in her hands.

"Han Solo over here." He said jokingly. His voice betrayed the tension he felt. "Uh, Mara, you going to put down those blasters?" Mara didn't even glance in his direction.

"A Hand never makes her presence known, Leia. Front doors aren't ideal for sneaking in." She pulled up the blasters, aiming one at each of them. "Back up. Now." For a moment neither of them moved.

"There isn't any need for sneaking around here, Mara. This is us." Mara's only response was a shot from each of the blasters. The resulting bolts narrowly missed Leia and Han as they ducked out of the way.

"Next time it'll be your heads. Move." Only now did Leia realize that she was very serious. They backed up into the room and sat on the couch. Mara paced in behind them, carefully closing the balcony doors behind her using the Force. Once she was satisfied that Leia and Han were far enough away, she put the blasters away in their holsters. Her dark gray jumpsuit hugged her body tightly, allowing her dangerous beauty to show. Her fiery hair fell over her shoulders down to her waist. Her brilliant jade eyes were darkened to a stormy green as she watched them, carefully taking in every aspect of her surroundings.

"Mara?" Leia asked. She knew that she was possibly greeting death here, but she had to talk to the woman. There were things she needed to explain.

"What has Skywalker gotten himself into now? What's so bad that I had to become this again?" Mara asked angrily. Leia had never seen the woman so upset before. Mara rarely allowed her feelings to show so openly.

"I don't know Mara. I've lost complete contact with him." Mara looked at her in disbelief.

"He's your brother, namely your twin. How can you lose contact with him? You're just as Force-sensitive as he is." Leia noticed Mara was tense, more tense than Leia had ever seen her. It reminded Leia of a distant memory. She couldn't quite recall what the occasion was but she would catch it.

"He is blocking me. I may be Force-sensitive, but I am not that strong. No one is." She looked at Mara, a piercing look in her eyes.

"So why did you call me? I understood that coded message, but what is so bad that I have to rescue him and no one else can?" Leia stared at her, a voice from beyond her memories speaking in her mind.

**The Force is life. It binds all life together. In some cases, such as my own relationship with Anakin, this binding is far more powerful. **

"That's just it, Mara. You are the only one who can. You aren't saving him from the galaxy, it is from Luke that you are saving him." Mara glared at Leia.

"Skywalker is stubborn and hard-headed. Whatever he's done to himself now, only he can help himself out." Suddenly, Mara looked infinitely tired, her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. "This has nothing to do with me." The phantom memory clicked in Leia's mind. Leia had only seen Mara like this once before, and it was around the time they first met. Leia looked at Mara and their gazes locked.

"The dreams are back aren't they?" Mara stared at Leia, the shock coursing through her not registering on her face.

"What makes you say that?"

"I can see it in your eyes." Han looked at both of them. He'd seen that Mara looked a little different, but he hadn't known what it was.

_This is what happens when you hang around Force-users and their hokey religion,_ he thought wryly.

"Look Mara. I thought this was a bad idea from the beginning. Don't worry about the kid. We'll take care of him." Mara looked at him and for the first time that day, she smiled a genuine smile.

"No you won't. You can't take care of anything. It was me leaving him in your hands that got us here." Leia looked from Mara to Han, wondering what was going on.

"Mara? How is this our fault?" Leia asked, confused.

"It isn't your fault, not really. Its mine. I shouldn't have left him. Not with that body-snatcher around." Leia and Han stared at her in shock.

"What?" They asked together. Mara didn't smile.

"That's what's done this to him. I know it. She left him, heartbroken. You didn't see that in the geeky moniker he gave himself? The Hand of Heartbreak? Really, Leia I thought you were smarter than that." Leia blinked in shock.

"How do you know about that? I don't recall ever mentioning that in my message." Mara smirked, a sarcastic glint in her eye. She looked at the viewscreen attached to the wall and it clicked on, the news reports beginning to speak excitedly about a string of smuggling raids through out the galaxy.

"All over the galaxy illegal activities are being demolished by a someone that leaves only one mark of his presence behind, a symbol branded into the wall and the signature, 'The Hand Of Heartbreak'." The reporter was saying. "The NRI has not yet confirmed the identity of the Hand, but it seems that this vigilante only targets criminals. During a speech earlier today, Secretary of State Gavrisom stated that citizens should be on the watch as such vigilante acts cannot be taken lightly. He hinted at suspicion that this seeming savior will eventually turn his attentions to the rest of the galaxy. Now to Tad Linress with the sports." Mara turned the channel. Another holo-reporter was smiling grimly at the screen.

"The Hand of Heartbreak. Is he a friend or foe?" The reporter touched a hand to his ear and nodded a few times, before resuming his report. "It has just been confirmed that we have the holo-recording from the actual attack. This is not for children or the light of heart. Be advised these scenes are very gruesome." The picture shifted and the three watched as Luke visciously attacked and murdered the smuggling band. The holo-reporter blinked back into view. "This is disheartening. It is believed among most of the NRI officials and the officers of the Corellian Security Forces that this vigilante is in fact a rising Dark Jedi." Mara changed the channel again and again, each time finding a different reporter speaking of the same event. Finally, after surfing through about fifteen channels, she turned the viewscreen off.

"Did you honestly believe the galaxy wouldn't find out about this, Leia?" Leia sat shocked. Mara's smirk grew. "You did? You thought you could hide it? Never doubt the power of the people Leia. They always find out." Leia recovered from her shock quickly. Meeting the eyes of the angered Jade, Leia matched, or at least attempted to match, Mara's sarcasm with her own.

"Is it safe to get up, or am I in danger of getting blasted?" Mara only smirked.

"Move if you wish, but you still have some explaining to do. Besides, you are always in danger of a blaster bolt in the head, _Princess._" Leia stood and retreated to the bedroom, returning moments later with a box. Han almost jumped out of his seat, if not for the wary glance he saw in Mara's eyes.

"Leia, you're not giving her that are you? After all we went through to find it?" Leia didn't look at Han, she just walked calmly up to Mara and handed her the box.

"Yes Han. I wasn't meant to keep it. I was only meant to pass it on." The calm voice of Kenobi was still drifting in her mind.

**I am bound to Anakin, in a way that most Jedi are not bound to their padawans. He is a friend, much like a son to me. There is no where he can go that I cannot find him. Nothing he can see that I will not. It is a strange bond, this ever present link between us. It is a dwindling one though, torn apart by the mire of hatred and misunderstanding. Such bonds are dangerous and rewarding, often bringing together two total opposites, and binding them together forever.**

Mara took the box and stared at it, and incredulous expression on her face.

"What is this?"

"Its a book. A written, leather bound book." Mara would have laughed, if not for the sincerity and concern she felt pouring from Leia.

"What am I to do with this?"

"Read it of course. I've read the entire thing, and I get the feeling its more useful to you than it is to me."

"How can a book help me help Luke?" Mara looked at Leia, genuinely wondering what she would do with it. The Force simply wove itself around her and this box containing the book. Mara felt a distant link grow stronger, even as she held it.

_But a distant link to what?_ She thought as she awaited Leia's answer.

"I don't think its meant to help Luke at all. I think its meant to help you help yourself."

AN: I am so sorry it took so long for me to update this. You wouldn't believe how hard writing this chapter has been. Well, I think the writer's block has died, if only for today. I'm working on the next chapter soon. And it should be up as soon as possible.


	9. Soul Ties

Soul Ties

She sat in the cabin on her ship, staring at the old book. It was withered, an obvious result of its age. She couldn't believe she'd actually walked away with it, without a word at that. She simply taken the box and left, a bewildered couple behind her. Now she sat looking at it, the box abandoned elsewhere. It had opened oddly, responding to her Force signature as soon as she'd touched the locking mechanism. The flowing script on the cover and contained within the pages was beautiful, showing the great care and time its author had put into writing it. The author was, of course, none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi. That made her almost smile. Luke Skywalker often spoke of the man with such great wisdom that it was ironic that this was the man to help save his life. Luke's face flashed in front her eyes as this occurred to her and she smiled.

_That man is so naive and innocent sometimes. _She frowned. _At least he was. Then Callista happened. _She glared down at the book in her lap, and a soft voice seemed to drift from it.

**Anger is not the answer, Mara Jade. **

"What was that?" she asked aloud. She looked up then back at the book, stretching out with the Force and feeling it coursing through its pages in a great river. She opened the book and began to read it, pulled by the enormous flow of energy coming from it.

_The Jedi are an interesting group of beings. We take upon ourselves the great burden of protecting a galaxy that outnumbers us tens of thousands to one. It is the major cause of our downfall. We believed that we had enough power to maintain a peace throughout the galaxy. We became arrogant, a quality I found often alarming in Anakin. I believe that the Jedi became so immersed in our ways that we began to forget to truly _feel_ emotions. The Jedi code rejects passion, but is it not passion that makes us what we are? The Jedi are passionate about saving the galaxy, and all the while we destroy ourselves. I do not believe that Anakin was chosen to bring balance to the Force by destroying darkness, but maybe to show us the true light. The light of love. It is Anakin's desire to love and be loved that draws him to darkness, and his hatred of himself that keeps him captive. Anakin was born a slave, captive on his homeworld of Tatooine, the ball of sand I now inhabit. I look upon Luke and I often wonder if will he grow to make this same fatal mistake. If he follows the path of the Jedi, will he succumb to the darkness of love? Will the desire to be loved lure him into the way of darkness? I no longer believe that Anger is a seed of darkness. I believe it is a doorway, a lure, a result of the darkness that exists in the hearts of all beings. It is the heart that guides us all, and it is the loss of our heart that felled the Jedi. Darth Vader was only a tool._

Mara closed the book.

"I suppose this Kenobi character has a point, but at the same moment he is saying the Jedi failed to love, he is saying that love was the doom of the very man who single handedly destroyed them." She groaned in frustration. "How is this stupid book supposed to help me at all?"

_Read it, of course. _Leia's voice whispered in her mind unbidden. Glaring out at nothing in particular, she opened the book again, and began to read.

_Soul Ties_

_The Force is life. It is the energy that makes us all symbiotic. One species couldn't survive without the other, whether it is admitted or not. The Force is life. It is a thought that has plagued my mind much lately. I am bound to all life because I serve the force, as do all Jedi, though apart from Master Yoda, I may be the last. Still, I have found that with Anakin, it is more prominent, this binding to life. The Teachings, a collection of writings that document the early basis of the Jedi Order, often speak of such a connection as a Master-Apprentice link. It isn't uncommon among other masters and their padawans, but I believe my link to Anakin is more than that. The Force is life. It binds all life together. In some cases, such as my own relationship with Anakin, this binding is far more powerful.I am bound to Anakin, in a way that most Jedi are not bound to their padawans. He is a friend, more like a son to me. There is no where he can go that I cannot find him. Nothing he can see that I will not. It is a strange bond, this ever present link between us. It is a dwindling one though, torn apart by the mire of hatred and misunderstanding. Such bonds are dangerous and rewarding, often bringing together two total opposites, and binding them together forever. I believe this link exist in other cases, such as my own master's link with Tahl, another Jedi he himself loved. When Tahl fell, my master felt her imminent death and did all that was in his power to prevent it. He followed the distant call of her future across the galaxy to her side, and though the woman was blind and dying, he held her in his arms as she succumbed to death. It was first love that bound them I think. Then the Force. I think that the Force only strengthened their connection, only allowed to grow past anything they could believe. The Teachings speak of such a bond, calling it a soul tie. In his writings, Master Uru stated that soul ties are often forged without the knowledge of those that are tied, and when it is discovered, that knowledge alone intensifies it. Love is powerful, an unbreakable tool, an unconquerable weapon. It is a great strength and a terrible weakness. It is love that is Anakin's greatest strength, it made him the Jedi he is, and it is love that is Darth Vader's downfall, it sends him into his darkness. _

Utterly emotionally spent from reading Obi-wan's thoughts and feeling the immense power behind them, Mara closed the book and drifted into sleep, a place where Luke Skywalker was ever present, in far more ways than one.


	10. Broken

AN: Sorry It took so long to get back to this. Gods, I hate writer's block. Well, here it is. I've finished all the chapters for this piece, I'll just be posting them bit by bit. So every one knows, about three months have passed betwixt this and the last chapter.

Broken

_**YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER. WHETHER YOU WISH IT OR NOT.**_

As the raging tone of the voice raged in her dreams, Mara Jade sat up abruptly. Her hand rose and blindly swept her unruly hair from her face. For nearly three months these dreams had tormented her, a curse she'd left behind nearly five years ago, yet in one moment, it had all come back to her and in greater force than before. Then she had felt no relief, nor had she sought any, believing that there had been no relief for her troubled spirit. Now, she had control of the Force, little control though it was, and she had Obi-Wan Kenobi.

This particular thought occurred to her softly, like a joke being told during comedy night at the nearest cantina. Yet she knew, deep within herself, that Kenobi's presence was a comfort. His spirit melded with her own, his words like the fatherly advice she had never realized she wanted. When her mind failed to supply her with answers, Kenobi's journal would fall open at her call, always on the very page she needed. His thoughts always seemed to provide the solidity she needed, the purity of mind without the innocence of youth. Though she knew that his years as a Jedi had corrupted him, in the sense that he was no longer objective about most things, and had a very Jedi way of looking at some things, his insight was incredibly informative. He added calm to her character, the more of his words she heard and read.

At this moment, her waking mind found itself seeking the peace of Kenobi's records. The journal swept across the room at her mental call, falling gently onto her bed, its pages fluttering open to a page she had read once before, but had not really internalized. It seemed that the Force, communicating with her through the persona of Obi-Wan Kenobi, wanted her to understand something, something that had nothing to do with her dreams at all.

_A Broken Heart_

_Yesterday, while cleaning the filters on my moisture vaporators, I found myself thinking of young Luke and Leia's mother. I recalled that the medical droid came to us saying she was dying, despite her perfect health. The droid's exact words to me were: "She has lost the will to live". As long as I had known milady Padme' she had been a very strong-willed woman. At the age of 14 she single-handedly allied the two opposing nations of her world and used that alliance to conquer the Trade Federation Army destroying her world. It was she who began the Delegation of 2000, the brainchild that began the Rebel Alliance. It was she who took the Petition of 2000 to Palpatine himself, knowing well what his response would be. It was she who gave her life to save Anakin, long after he was beyond saving. No woman I've ever met gave her heart so willing to anything to which she believed it was deserved. Anakin was the only being that had a hold on that heart, and it is my belief that his fall to the darkside, stole the innocence that was left within that heart. Darth Vader truly is the murderer of all that once was Anakin Skywalker. The Anakin I knew would have fallen apart in the face of her desperate love, would have lived to die in the face of her pain. The Anakin I knew may have even fallen on his own lightsaber if it were enough to save her life. Padme' Naberrie Amidala died of a broken heart. Her last words to me were of hope, a hope I believe was unfounded, but a hope nonetheless. She died believing that there was good within Vader still, that a piece of the Anakin we had both loved still lived. In the years since that day, I have not seen any remote hope of Light within Vader. If any truth be told, he has only receeded more into the dark than before..._

She shut the book, angered by the words written on the page. Death by broken heart, what a preposterous idea. Not to mention the idotic thoughts about Anakin.

"Anakin Skywalker was an inherently good man, just like his son. There was always a hope of Light within Vader, one had only but to look to find it. How can a broken heart kill anyone? You don't let pain destroy you, you pick up and move on. Eventually the pain dulls and once enough time passes, the pain goes away, becoming only a memory. This Amidala woman could not have been a strong spirit if only one moment of heartbreak killed her."

**Were it that simple, Mara, I might even agree with you. **

Mara spun at the sudden voice, her mind realizing that it wasn't just a whisper of the Force. She felt the presence within her bedroom, despite the fact that no one was aboard the ship. As she turned toward the voice, she noticed a small blue glow about the room. When her eyes found the source of the voice, she started, not expecting the surprise she'd gotten.

**Don't be so alarmed, Mara Jade. You've called, I've come, that is the way of the Force. **

Standing before her was a woman in her late twenties, long dark hair cascading down her shoulders in thick curls. She had deep brown eyes that reminded Mara much of Leia. Mara realized that this must be the woman whom she had been reading about, Padme' Amidala. She looked at the woman well, memorizing her distinct features. Though cast in an iridescent blue light, the woman was extremely beautiful. She wore a soft lavender shift, her crimson kissed skin glimmering in the light of the Force. She had a tender smile, hidden within it a touch of innocence that Mara knew all too well. It was the innocence that she often saw within Luke Skywalker himself. This woman was definitely the mother of the Skywalker twins, each of them bearing some resemblance to her, be it in their character or in their physical features. Mara couldn't help but smile.

"I thought killing Skywalker's clone was the weirdest thing that ever happened to me, but this? This definitely tops that by a long while. You must be Padme' Amidala, mother of the Skywalker twins." The woman smiled.

**I am. You seem surprised to see me.**

"I didn't know Luke's mom was a Jedi too. Kenobi makes you sound like a politician."

**I was a politician. I was the youngest queen to rule the Naboo people. After serving two terms as queen, I was the senator of Naboo for 13 years. I'm not a Jedi.**

"I thought this eternity thing was a trick reserved for jedi only. If you're not a Jedi, how can you do it as well?"

**It seems that I am a special case. Apparently there was enough potential within me that I have found a way to bind myself to the mortal world, to trace my steps back to you and only you.**

" Only me? Why me? Why am I so important?" Mara asked anxiously. Interesting as it was, she was not comfortable with the idea of thirty year old spirits being attached to her.

**I died to protect my son from Darth Vader, to save him from the darkness that ruled his father's world. I cannot die for him this time, Mara. **

"So is that what this is about? You spent all that energy to tell me that I'm going to die to save Skywalker? Never going to happen. I don't even get why I'm in this mess in the first place. Luke Skywalker destroyed my life once already. I don't need him to do it again."

**Enough lives have been lost to save my children. The time has now come to live for them, Mara Jade. **

"I've been living for them enough for the last nine years. I spent five years searching for your son. I've spent four years continuing to rebuild the life I once had, my attempts always distracted or interrupted by your two children. I'm tired of living for Skywalker and his friends."

**I once thought the same thing, staring at the fireplace when Anakin vehemently professed his love to me. I'd known of his love since the day we met, and I'd held a special place for it within me until ten years later when he had the chance to truly show me his love. It wasn't until death greeted us that I truly confessed the torment that had gone on within me. I'd been dying since the day he walked back into my life, and it was only right that it was he that ended it. It was when we were riding in that genosian arena, that I realized I had to die to begin to live again. The moment of my death passed quickly and threw me into a life I had vowed to never live, and I had never been happier in my life. **

"I do not see the point of all this meaningless information. So you fell in love with a demon child, what has that to do with me?" Her impatience was getting the best of her, but Amidala showed no signs of offense at her tone. Instead the young woman only smiled, her eyes shining with something more than knowledge, but Mara could not identify the emotion.

**One day you'll know. One day you'll have dreams, Mara. When the time comes, all that you are will save my children. One day, and the day shall come soon, that you, Mara Jade, will die to save my child from the darkness that ruled his father's world.**

The spirit faded, and as it departed a feeling of bliss gently swept over Mara, and she fell into a deep sleep, her dreams as dark as the night sky.


	11. Only Hope, again

AN: Okay, to save on posting (not that there is any reason to), and simply because I had no ideas, we're going to time travel a bit here. This chapter jumps to three months after the previous chapter. In the wormhole between the two chapters our friendly neighborhood Hand of Heartbreak has continued his terror of the galaxy. No system in the New Republic has gone untouched by his special breed of justice. Leia is still on vacation, and Mara is...well you'll see.

Visitation

"Over the past six months, the galaxy has been terrorized by a vigilante known as The Hand of Heartbreak. He has been attacking criminal organization throughout the galaxy, brutally obliterating the control centers of such activities, and leaving only one mark of his presence, a brand in the wall that we have come to know as his emblem. Four months ago, the Hand put out a call to the nations of the galaxy to capture our criminals and turn them over to him, or he would destroy us all. Some governments have petitioned the New Republic to intervene, but the Senate has remained silent. New Republic Intelligence will not say whether or not it has begun investigations into this bizarre spree of serial murder, but after six months, with the Hand of Heartbreak still on the rampage, it is easy to see that nothing has been done.

The Corellian State, the place where all of this started, has adamantly said that it will not heed the call of the Hand, and in a twisted turn of events, has urged criminals of all natures to find safe haven within the Corell star system. Needless to say, the Hand of Heartbreak has turned the galaxy upside down.

The galaxy must wonder though, what the big idea is about him anyway. Why should we care if he's killing off all the criminals? He's doing us more good than harm. Some speculators say that he's just using the criminals as a scapegoat, to get us all to trust him so he can create a new empire. Conspiracy theorists believe he's actually working for the Empire and this is the Empire's latest bid for power. The Imperial Remnant denies any dealings with the Hand of Heartbreak and claims it has no knowledge of the mysterious entity behind the mask.

All we here on the HOH network know is this, the Hand of Heartbreak is out there, watching and waiting for his next opportunity to strike. When he does, we'll be there to give you all the information available. Next sign on frequency code is: mega-alpha-mega-alpha context signal jet-alpha-door-eagle." The comm station clicked off. A soft laugh escaped into the air.

"She's good. I'll give her that. No one will ever recognize that voice unless they'd heard it personally, which few have. I'll be sure to send you that message you're waiting for Leia." The comm unit came on yet again, and a message ticked across the screen, shortly spinning across the galaxy where it was received by the princess herself.

The message said only this:

_A wayward land where shadows died_

_The clone of the broken man lies_

When the reader saw the message, a smile crossed her face. She knew at that moment, where and when the two hands would meet, and knew how to intercept them. She placed only one call. It was to her husband. Two standard days later, the princess met her servant, and an epic talk began.

"Leia, I'm glad you decided to meet me here."

"Good of you to inform me of your whereabouts."

"Well, I try to keep you in touch. I'm on your orders as it is."

"So you've found him have you?"

"Yes, I found him."

"You're not ready to face him yet."

"Who are you to tell me what I'm ready to do or not?"

"His sister, that's who."

"If that really amounted to much, then you'd be the one going after him, not me."

"Low blow, but true nonetheless. Still, you don't have what it takes."

"How do you know that?"

"You don't love him. I know that. You've made no secret of that."

"I don't hate him either, what's your point?"

"He's killing the galaxy because he feels it has forgotten how to love. He's broken hearted. Don't you see that?"

"Of course I see that. Why do you think I'm here? It's always been me picking up the missing pieces of Skywalker. Been that way since we met."

"It's not the pieces of him I'm worried about; it's the pieces of you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You are just as broken as he is, just as torn as he is, and you don't even know it."

"I don't understand."

"One day you will, and when you do, then you will be ready."

"I'm ready now."

"No you aren't. Meet him, and you will fall."

"I don't fall."

_**You've already fallen, Mara Jade.**_

She woke with a start.

_Already fallen? Fallen for what?_

She swept her cascading hair from her face and looked around the room. The chrono to her left read 0240.

"Looks like another sleepless night." She got out of bed and head to the refresher for a quick shower and some clean clothes. About thirty minutes later, as she reached for yet another ration bar her restless mind assaulted her.

"It's been like this since I left on this mission six months ago. I still haven't found a trace of Skywalker. I've not had a decent nights sleep. Stupid voice tormenting me while I'm awake, desperate dreams while I sleep. No peace without Skywalker." She stared out at the gloomy stars. _Why is it I find no semblance of peace in my life without you, Luke? _As the thought bounced in her head, she found herself noticing for the first time, a hollow feeling in her chest.

"What did that mean? 'You are just as broken as he is.' Broken how?" She began to pace across the small kitchenette, her emotions a tidal wave against her mind. "These dreams keep mentioning being broken, and me needing something I don't have. What is it that I don't have? Why would the Force have told Leia to call me, if I'm not really what Luke needs? Why am I the only person capable of saving Luke? Leia said it herself, I'm saving him from himself. How am I to do that? Luke Skywalker has always been his own man, but he's too willing to give himself up easily to others, including those that wouldn't do the same for him. He's a heartbreaking man to know. I don't understand how Leia does it as his sister. " She paused, her own words catching up with her. _A heartbreaking man… heartbreak, 'The Hand of Heartbreak'._

"Mara Jade, you've been a fool. You knew this began with Callista breaking his heart, but you really didn't get it. Luke Skywalker is a broken man, a man in love with a galaxy that he thinks hates him and betrayed him. He's fighting back, in typical Luke Skywalker fashion. He thinks he's saving the galaxy from itself, by killing off the criminals, people who cause heartbreak." Her body found a chair of its own accord and sat down. Her mind was in a total daze, her heart slowly freezing over. "He's thrown himself into the deepest darkness of the light. He's thinking he'll always be broken but there's no reason anyone else should be. He's doing it again, closing himself off from everything around him because he thinks it is his responsibility to deny others pain."

**Pain is a part of life, is it not, young Jade?** The familiar voice spoke softly. It seemed somewhat different, and she turned, her eyes falling on the iridescent blue form of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Of course it is. Without it, we could not survive."

**Why then do you run from the truth, which is the deepest pain any being can know?**

"I'm not running from the truth."

**You are, young Jade. You are.**

"From what truth am I running, Master Omniscience?"

**I don't presume to know everything, just some things. **

"How can you say I'm running from the truth, if you don't know what the truth is?"

**It is not I who lacks the knowledge. Why have you followed Luke's path?**

"His sister requested it."

**It is no secret that you hold no love of Leia. Why did you come?**

She took a deep breath, thinking deeply about why she'd come. She'd felt Luke fall the moment he had. The moment she'd seen the holo-vids of his first attack her soul had connected with his. Even now, she knew that he was sleeping fitfully, his nights tormented by dark dreams. She felt him as though he was there with her, even though an entire galaxy kept them apart. She'd felt it in the words of Leia's message, knew the call of the Force, became the desperate plea Luke was sending to the galaxy. She had known, instantaneously, that she was the one to save him, had known that no one else could.

"I came because I know that no one can save Skywalker like I can. No one knows how to talk sense into him like I do. No one can see into the depths of that wonderful soul like I can. No one can…" She stopped, the words that had risen to her lips giving her pause.

**No one can what? **

She only stared at her feet, rendered speechless by the sudden revelation.

**There is no being so connected with Luke as you. Only you can see his thoughts as he thinks them. Only you can feel his heartbeat from systems away. Only you can save him. Why is this, Mara?**

"I don't know why, Kenobi. I don't know."

**Listen to your heart. Hear its whisper and know. Feel and be certain. **

She followed his words, her eyes closing as her spirit turned upon itself, harnessing its own madness. Six months had passed since she'd begun this crazy mission. Six months had passed since she'd first heard the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi. For six months, she had listened, opening herself to the strange possibilities of her power. After six months, she would not stop listening now. She looked deep inside herself, and knew, felt it beyond doubt, the only reason any of this occurred.

"No one knows Luke Skywalker like I do. No one sees the man, they all see the icon, the hero. I've never looked at him and seen a burning torch of liberty. I've only ever seen the soft passion of a man desperate to care, to love. The lightsaber at his belt never held my focus, only the pure emotion in his enrapturing blue eyes. His unique presence in the Force never hypnotized me; it was always his rarely seen smile. There is a light in Luke Skywalker that blinds me, but without it, I don't feel complete. I find myself often wondering, what Luke would think of this, how Luke would feel about this, and other thoughts of that nature."

**Mara Jade, you are a broken woman. Luke is a broken man. Together healing is possible. Together, you can become whole. But you must do it together, and one of you must take the first step. No being is capable of reaching Luke the way you can.**

"I know. No one can do it but me." The spirit faded as she fell silent, her eyes downcast. She knew that it would be no easy task, but no strength came to her now. With this new awareness came no hope, no passion, and no help. It brought her only fear. Now she feared only herself, not of an outside force.

_Luke Skywalker needs to be loved, and no one can love him like I can. _


	12. The Gift

The Gift

The night had passed silently. No alarms had rung out. No ships had suddenly attacked. No one had buzzed the com-link with impending doom. The holonet com-cast had gone off without a hitch. Yet, as she sat in the co-pilot's chair staring out at the distant stars, she couldn't help feeling as though the galaxy was falling apart around her. _My brother, my twin, hear me, _Went her call through the Force. As was the usual, no one replied or even acknowledged they'd received it. Still, she sent the aimless message again and again. It was the only thought that occupied her melancholy mind as she contemplated the gall of the greatest man she'd ever known.

_How has it come to this? Damn you, Callista, for wreaking such havoc on my brother. _

The though was dangerously close to darkness, but she didn't care. It was her only relief, casting hatred toward the being that has caused all this. She paid no mind to the small part she had paid in this crisis. She made no mention of the countless times she'd abandoned her family in a hope for the greater good. She thought nothing of the endless missions she'd pressured her win into, even while knowing the toll it was taking on his spirit. She thought only of one thing: calling out to her lost brother.

It wasn't just because he'd fallen to the dark side. It wasn't just because he'd begun wreaking righteous chaos upon the galaxy he'd help build. It wasn't even because he had abandoned all they'd hoped and dreamed up together. It was because he'd turned away from _her_. It was because he was rejecting _her_. That was the one thing she couldn't take. Her endless love for her brother had always reeled him back in, had always saved him from stepping over that blurred line. Her mind simply couldn't comprehend the reason for his emotional silence. Her heart didn't want to believe that he had simply walked away. She wanted to hate him for leaving her, to hate him for not letting her help him, to hate him for not accepting what she had to give. She couldn't hate him though. She loved him too much. No matter what he did, he remained her brother, her twin, and she would never stop loving him.

She hated herself for not being good enough. She hated herself for not seeing the chaos before it came. She hated herself because she knew her love would never be enough to heal his broken heart. She hated herself for knowing where that love could come from, and having no idea how to help it on its way.

Darkness and light were battling within her, raging to claim her spirit each for its own, and the comm station beeped. She turned to it, slowly, activating it with her mind, too depressed to bother reaching for it with her hand.

"This message is for Leia Organa Solo from Lady Mara Jade. Do you accept its contents?" She sighed. It could only be more bad news.

"I accept." The screen darkened, and the husky voice of Mara Jade began to speak.

"I left a package for you with Calrissian at Bespin. It'll be in Han's favorite hangout spot at Cloud City. Just look for the old burn marks. They're still there after all these years. There's a datapad in there to explain everything, or at least as much as I can. This is the last message you'll get from me, Leia, so don't stay up expecting my calls. Jade, out." She turned off the comm station, and turned to the navicomputer. The jump would be about four hours. She keyed in the coordinates, and pulled the lever, her eyes never leaving the stars.

oOoOoOo

They landed on the same landing pad that had led to their almost doom all those years ago. They walked the same hallways as before, memory creeping over them as they did so. The chamber was just as cold as it had been then, only now there were no stormtroopers to deepen the chill. This time, no one was in danger of death. In comparing this trip to the last, they found that only one thing remained the same besides the room itself: the feeling that all hope was lost. They didn't know when any of this pain would end, but to their eyes it didn't seem to be getting anywhere near it.

Leia found the burn scar on the old piping easily enough, and reaching past it, discovered the box quickly. She lowered herself to the floor, her mind spent from the emotional havoc it had wreaked upon itself. Han came and sat next to her, lending his own support, waiting for the box to reveal its secrets. She opened it, and stared at its contents, her mind blanking at the sight.

"Why would she…" Her hand pulled datapad from the case, and thumbed it on. As the text scrolled across the screen, the voice of Mara Jade spun on the air.

"I know my gift is surprising to you. It was surprising to me too. For six months I have wandered space, following a ghost trail of the one man that binds us together. For six months I have effortlessly tracked heartbreak upon its path of tears. Yet, I failed to realize the true reason why I am out here. I've read Kenobi's journal cover to cover many times, yet I missed the message he was sending me. In all my meditations, I missed the whisper of the Force. I wondered why I was out here. I wondered why you'd sent for me, and me alone. I wondered why I can never seem to get Luke Skywalker out of my system." Her voice paused for a moment, and it seemed as though she was collecting her cool, for when her voice returned, it was steadier, more sure of itself.

"I left you my lightsaber because I've realized that the only weapon I have against Luke is my heart. Once you look, you'll find that the focusing crystal is missing. Kenobi wrote that the focusing crystal is the heart of the lightsaber, and that it is tied directly to the heart of its master. I've always felt a strange connection to Luke, always felt like more was happening between us than either of us knew, and it was. In these lonely months of contemplation I've spent a lot of time thinking about myself and you brother and how we are connected. I discovered that there is something I must do, something that only I can do. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but I know that's all it's going to take to save him. He's a broken man, and me, I'm a broken woman. We've spent all these years looking for the missing pieces in our lives when all the while what we've needed was each other." Her voice faded again, and a sigh escaped her.

"I'm not going to go in there and wrestle your brother back to the rest of the galaxy, forcing him to pretend he's okay with everything, when I know that he's not. I'm going to go in there and stay with him, until he's ready to come out. All he needs is someone to know him, to be a part of him. I've felt him calling me since the moment we met. I can't fight the pull any more, Leia. I don't know when you'll hear from me again, but when you do, you'll be seeing my face." The voice of Mara Jade faded into the darkness. The two sat stunned for a while, neither of them speaking the thoughts that fought for victory in their heads. Once the two of them came back to reality, Leia took the cylindrical lightsaber hilt from the case. She opened the casing and saw that it was empty, and felt the truth of Mara's message. She placed the empty hilt back in the case and replayed the data-tape again and again, her heart filling with a pure joy each time she heard the woman's soft-spoken words.

"Never before have I heard such sincerity in the enigma that is Mara Jade." She said, as the two returned to the Falcon. "I can feel the truth in her words."

"So what does that mean for us, princess? What do we do now?" Han asked. He didn't really understand what Mara's words had meant, but even he, the only non-Force sensitive in the family, could feel the balance hanging on the woman's life. Even he, with no insight into these hokey religions, knew that the fate of an entire galaxy rested in the hands of that same woman, and Han Solo knew that only that woman could do what needed to be done.

"Why, my no-good-half-witted-scruffy-looking-nerf-herder," she grinned. "We, simply go on living, and let her do what only Mara Jade can do."

Together they returned to the rest of the galaxy, she assuming her place as Chief-Of-State, and he assuming her place near her side, ever watchful over their family, the both of them always awaiting the crimson tide that would bring their brother coming home.


	13. The Mercy Seat

The Mercy Seat

_In the darkness where everything remains unknown I face the power of evil on my own. The loving illusions will never be truth. There is no place of mercy for you. To you I bring swiftness of death upon the tip of my blade, my aim precise to a single gain. My goal is to break you, to bring you down to parts and pieces. You shall kneel before me and my blade shall smoke your flesh. By light this path, by night the other, shall no longer be your form. Condemnation is now yours._

The voice faded into the darkness. The age-old snap-hiss of a lightsaber pierced the air, its blue light matching the cold of the glistening eyes behind it. In a rapid strike, the blade found its way through soft flesh, melting to ash the heart within.

_Give me your heart, you dragon, Krayt. _

The blade extinguished itself, and the smoking body fell, its cloak drifting lightly in the wind. A gentle breeze wafted through the air, carrying the smell of burning hair and skin through the air, alighting itself in the senses of the only remaining being around. Until now she had remained hidden from the Hand. Until this moment, the Hand had not felt her presence. Yet now, he felt her, realized he should have felt her life within him long ago.

_So you have finally found me, have you?_

"You made the task easy for me, once I knew what to look for."

_How, if I may ask, have I made it easy?_

"The pieces of your broken soul are spread behind you. One need only look to see." The Hand looked into her spirit, and found her aura radiant but subdued. She wasn't hiding from him, only protecting herself. The Hand saw of her that which he wanted to see, and left her mind alone, not caring much more about her, only wishing that she was gone.

_For what reason have you followed me?_

"Well, it was my original intention to take you home, back where you belong." If he had been capable, the Hand might have laughed at that.

_So you came to arrest me and drag the lost boy home?_

"No. I came to wait for you, to stay with you until you want to go home." The Hand turned his back on her, and began to walk away.

_Then you are wasting your time. I have no desire to return to what you call home. _

"One day you will. One day you'll have dreams, just like I do. When you do, I'll be there, waiting to take you home." The desire to laugh came forth again, but the Hand held back, looking over his shoulder at her.

_I do not dream. Leave me. I am already alone. _

"That, I refuse to do. You may not want me around, but I'm not leaving you. That, we will not agree on." He turned to face her again.

_Do not make me force you to leave. _

"Try what you will." Her voice carried a tone of certainty, but held an undertone of dismay. It felt as though she was reluctant to fight him on the issue, but was resolved to do so if she must. "I will not leave you."

_I have no wish to harm you._

"The only way I will ever leave you is if I am dead."

_I would prefer you had not said that. _

The Hand reached out into the darkness and sent it flying toward the woman, a massive wall of impregnable memory. Her eyes and aura became colored with sadness, and she waved a hand, erecting an immense wall of light around her. His darkness shattered against her purity, dying against the blaze of her gentle glory.

_None can resist me. Now leave!_

He sent another wave of darkness at her, this one more powerful than the first. Her only response was her sad, desperate gaze, and the wall of light protecting her. Again and again the Hand attacked her, and she remained unmoved, a solid wall against all he had. When he finally paused to recover his mental capacity, she stared into his eyes, locking her brilliant gaze with his own. His strength began to fail him, and his will began to waver under the power of her attention. Keeping his gaze firmly locked within hers, she raised a hand, and sent her fiery warmth careening into him. The wave of energy crashed against him, lifting him from his feet, and sending him flying into the duracrete wall. The entire room seemed to shake under the power of her sudden fury, yet her aura never changed. She continued to betray a sad acceptance of him, and the resolution to stay on until her battle was won.

"I will never leave you." Her hand lifted and his body lifted with it. He felt limp in her invisible grip, but no amount of struggling would release him. "You and I are in this together. Nothing will take me away from you, ever again."

_What do you mean ever again? You were never with me. _

"From the moment we met, all those years ago, not a day has gone by that I haven't thought of you. No moment has passed in which some piece of you wasn't always with me. But there came a day that tore us apart, and now here we stand, separated almost beyond repair. I refuse to let that happen again. Ever." She gently rested him on his feet, and he recovered his balance easily. They stood staring each other in the eye, neither of them venturing to speak.

_What damnation is it you bring upon me? I am already torn to pieces. Need you further my destruction? Leave me be. Return to the galaxy that loves you and tell it I am coming for it. _

"Oh, Luke," she whispered. "I'm just as dead to this galaxy as you are." That silenced him. The name that had escaped her lips stunned him, bringing forth reeling memories he had forced himself to forget. At that moment, he _knew _her, _felt_ her, and understood. She had been with him always, a constant presence since the moment they met. Yet he wanted her gone, didn't want to hurt her, but knew that was the only way she would ever be truly free.

_You will never be free of me unless I do what I really do not wish to do. Leave me or die. _

It was not his words that stung her the most, it was the sincerity she felt pouring from him. It was the fact that he really thought he had no other choice. She only wanted to show him the light that he had forgotten, and she realized that he was too far gone to remember. Still, her heart continued to beat with a passion that would not allow her to turn away. So she remained still, a firm wall against his epic fury.

"Then I will die, Luke Skywalker. I will die." Her brilliant eyes closed and she took a deep breath. He was stunned not by her will, but by her willingness to give up all that she had built for _him._ It angered him that she defied him so, that she so easily tore down all he had built. He raised his hand, and summoned all the power of darkness to him, and sent it hurtling toward her in a powerful storm of energy. This time, her wall of erected will didn't halt his power, her light didn't defy him. This time the wave of energy blasted her full force and sent her colliding with the duracrete wall behind her. As her unconscious body slid down the wall, the duracrete began to crack under the stress of the impact. Her body connected with the ground and the duracrete fell around her, crashing in great slabs upon her fragile body.

_You paid for you insolence, Mara Jade. I am meant to be alone. _

He walked over to the destruction, believing her to be dead, and looked down at the chaos. Her hand was all that was visible beneath the debris, and it relaxed when his gaze fell on it, falling open, and something skittered across the floor. It was the hand carved focusing crystal of the lightsaber he'd given her nine years ago, burning with a scarlet light. A shock of understanding tore through him, murdering his soul even as it lay dead. He began to tear his way through the rubble, attempting desperately to free her before it was too late. His heart filled with horror as he stared into her expressionless face, his eyes capturing her dangerous beauty. Moving without conscious thought, he pulled her fragile form into the cool heat of his body. As he stood with her in his arms, her eyes fluttered open, startling his dark world with their brilliance.

"As long as I live you will never be alone." Came her husky, broken whisper. He stared at her, feeling the life leave her, but knowing it was not her end, knowing it was not over for her yet.

_Why? I want to be alone. Why will you not leave me? _

The thought was aimless, but from somewhere beyond his understanding, the answer came.

**Because I'm in love with you, Luke Skywalker.**

The thought repeated in his mind long after her voice was gone, killing him softly with each repetition. He kept saying it to himself, not wanting to believe it, but knowing it was true. When he finally became aware again, the local police had surrounded him, and she still rested in his arms, the life gone from her, her spirit in a place he could no longer reach. When he knelt to lay her back on the ground, something deep within him shattered, and all his lost tears began to fall.


	14. Deliverance

Deliverance

Message Sent: 1212 hours Coruscant Standard

Sender: Agamar Medical Palace, Dr. Nephili

Message Received: 1322 hours Coruscant Standard

Reciever: Madame Chief of State Leia Organa Solo

Madame Chief Of State:

_I am Doctor Caedus Nephili of the Agamar Medical Palace. I was told by the Duro Defense Force that this message was to be delivered directly to you. Yesterday, I received two patients who the Duro believe are of the utmost import to you. The first of them is an unidentifiable woman. She is in her thirties, has flaming red hair, and startlingly green eyes, and she is in a coma. The Duro tell me she has been unresponsive for more than three days, and that her condition has been progressively worsening. They sent her to me as quickly as they could, but the journey here from Duro is a long one and I fear there is little I am able to do. For reasons I cannot explain, she is still alive, though she should have been long dead. I don't know her name, and I can find no trace of her. The Duro believed you may know her because of who she was found with. It has been revealed to us that the mysterious vigilante known as the Hand of Heartbreak is in fact your brother, Luke Skywalker. He was discovered with the unknown woman at the scene of the Hand's latest attack, a corrupted political outpost on Duro. According to the holo-vids he executed the leader of this vile political faction and the unknown woman showed up shortly afterward. It seems that they talked for a few moments before performing an incredible display of Force power. At first the woman defended herself, but after a continued exchange of words, she seemed to just give up. His last attack was the most powerful. It caused half of the building to collapse upon them. The wall fell directly on the young woman, which caused extensive injuries. At this point the DDF arrived on the scene and found Master Skywalker cradling the woman in his arms. At some point during the journey here, he also fell unconscious. He is not in the best of condition. He is malnourished and severely injured. Most of his recent injuries are from the collapse, but his most extensive injury is self-inflicted torture. When they arrived, the two patients were in stasis, and Master Skywalker held a small blue gemstone. The Duro tell me they tried to take it from his hands but even in his invalid state, he will not release the stone. I have done all I can for the two of them. The woman has not yet awoken, so I have not been able to put her in a full bacta bath. Master Skywalker has been on constant transfusions and has received three full bacta treatments, but apart from regaining consciousness he is not well. I trust that you will respond as soon as you are able. I will keep you updated on their condition as often as I am able. Do not fear a leak of information. I handled the transfer of the two patients personally and the Duro involved have all been through extensive debriefing and are currently in isolation per your decision. _

_Doctor Caedus Nephili _


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue

Every person experiences a moment of severe heartbreak. Every sentient being has a moment when they feel their heart die. For Luke Skywalker, the moment came slowly, drifting into his soul like a poison. For Mara Jade, the moment approached with the swift stealth of an assassin, piercing her silently. Now they lie all in parts, in pieces smaller than the eye of a needle, both endlessly awaiting absolution. One waits in hope of death, the other waits in hope of life. Together they are lost in a losing battle. For as long as they live or die, the Hand of Heartbreak survives.


End file.
